Residents not invited to party for Smith

That the city of Durango spent nearly $17,000 on a retirement party for an employee out of the city’s general fund is outrageous. City Manager Ron LeBlanc’s flippant justification that it was only about $1 per city resident is breathtakingly self-serving. My family and yours paid for an extravagant party to which we were not invited.

LeBlanc already siphons more than $160,000 in salary and perks from the city. Why should we pay for him and other invited insiders to chow down on $30-a-plate dinners? Talk about bellying up to the public trough! Those who wanted to throw and attend this party should have paid for it themselves. Civic-minded attendees might consider sending a check for $30 to the city’s general fund to eliminate their complicity.